


Falling for Superman

by sanctuary_for_all



Series: Partners [64]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And Danny's really the expert in this sort of thing, But ever so slightly more well adjusted, But it got more serious than I planned, Combined team, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Feels, Feelings Realization, Feels, Fluff, Junior is basically Steve Jr, M/M, Sibling Bonding, i don't even know what this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 08:10:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20888909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanctuary_for_all/pseuds/sanctuary_for_all
Summary: The feeling of watching himself from the outside was disorienting enough to leave him reeling for a moment.





	Falling for Superman

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't tied to an actual episode, so there are no spoilers and nothing outside the fic that you're missing.

A banner made of taped-together sheets of printer paper hung over the big screen, reading “Congratulations on your first helicopter jump!” There was a small collection of food from the closest vending machine collected together on the nearest non-computer table, and “Eye of the Tiger” was playing out of some sort of computer speakers somewhere.

“Okay, fine.” Danny tilted his head in acknowledgement, watching Chin, Lou, and Jerry eat chips and listen to Junior recount the experience one more time. Everyone but Jerry had actually been there, and Jerry himself had been listening in over comms, but in Danny’s opinion it was _way_ better hearing a still-jazzed Junior relate the story second-hand. “Maybe Jerry _can_ throw a decent party.”

Steve, who was standing next to Danny watching at a distance rather than adding to the story, smiled a little. “He never threw _me_ a party for jumping onto a moving helicopter,” he teased.

Danny raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh, I’m sure he wanted to. But he knew if he tried, I would have killed him.”

Steve’s smile widened into a grin. “That is true.”

Danny sighed, shifting sideways to lean against him a little as they watched the rest of the group. He’d have to keep an eye on the kid, make sure he didn’t try to sign up for the full “Steve McGarrett’s Guide to Nearly Getting Yourself Killed,” but he couldn’t help but be grateful there was someone else on the team willing to do ridiculous heroics these days. “Be honest with me. If Junior hadn’t jumped into that helicopter, would you have done it?”

There was a long, long pause from Steve. “It was the only way to get the helicopter down without killing the hostage or anyone else on the ground,” he said finally, voice quiet. “But if it helps, I would have felt really, really guilty about it afterward.”

It did help, at least a little. But he wasn’t about to admit that. “You’re lucky I love you.”

Steve pressed a kiss against Danny’s hair. “I most definitely am.”

Danny rubbed a hand down Steve’s back, ready to nudge them both towards the impromptu celebration, when Kono and Tani came in through the doors. They’d disappeared together just after they team had gotten back, and Danny had been planning to ask Kono about it once they’d had a private moment. From the way Kono was obviously steering Tani in their direction, however, he was pretty sure they were going to hear about whatever was wrong a lot faster than he’d expected.

Junior abruptly cut off his story when he caught sight of Tani, turning with his mouth already open to ask if everything was okay, but Kono gave him an "everything’s fine" wave. She then made meaningful eye contact with Chin, who drew Junior back into telling the story, while Kono kept pushing Tani right toward Steve and Danny. Tani, who had the whole “I’m really upset but refusing to talk about it” expression on her face, was deliberately not making eye contact with Junior.

When they got close enough, Tani finally started talking. “Listen, I’m _fine_. There’s no reason to even—”

Kono put a hand over her mouth, expression serious but not grim enough for Danny to get really worried. “Ignore her. She _really_ needs to talk to both of you, but mostly Danny.” She gestured back towards the offices, voice low enough not to be overheard. “Someplace more private than this.”

Steve and Danny looked at each other, eyebrows raised, then gestured for Tani to follow them. Kono let her go, gave her a “you need to trust me” look, then headed back over to the party. Tani stayed where she was a moment, clearly resistant, then huffed out a breath and followed them back to Steve’s office.

Once they were all inside, she stayed standing in the middle of the floor radiating tension. Danny could practically see the “countdown to explosion” timer ticking over her head, and as he shut the door he tried to figure out what the cause might be. He didn’t think something had happened during the case, but he might have missed it. Her brother was also a real possibility, even though last they’d heard he was doing great working at the rehab center.

Of course, the real problems were usually the things no one else saw coming. And it was probably about time for her to have the big team crisis of the month….

As soon as the door clicked shut, Tani threw her hands in the air. “This is stupid. You two are clearly just as snowed about this as everyone else.”

Okay, that wasn't the response he’d been expecting. “About what, may I ask?”

“That!” She flung a hand out in the direction of the party outside, the tension exploding outward into full-blown anger. “Our boy shows the survival instincts of a concussed _lemming_, and you guys are all cheering him on like he just got the title role in the latest Superman remake! Do you know how many ways he could have gotten himself _killed_ with that move?”

_Oh_.

The feeling of watching himself from the outside was disorienting enough to leave him reeling for a moment. He looked back at Steve, who was emotional enough it was clear he’d recognized what was going on as well. He got up from the edge of his desk, walking over to squeeze Tani’s shoulder. “Kono was right,” he said gently. “I think it’s best we leave this one to Danny.” Then he headed toward the door, pressing another kiss against Danny’s hair. “Thank you for sticking with me anyway,” he whispered in Danny’s ear. “If you figure out something you want me to tell Junior, just let me know.”

Danny nodded, throat tight, and squeezed Steve’s hand before he slipped out of the office. As the door clicked shut behind him again, Danny folded his arms across his chest. “So,” he said finally, voice deliberately casual. “This is what you were talking to Kono about?”

“I didn’t mean to! I would have happily gone home early and stewed in silence.” She looked through the blinds again, eyes heading straight to Junior. “I didn’t want to interfere with the _party_.” 

He made a mental note to kiss Kono for picking up on Tani’s feelings a hell of a lot faster than he had. “You could have told Junior about all this.”

She let out a breath, a haunted expression on her face. “He looks so happy.” She pressed her lips together, turning back to Danny. “And everyone else just thinks this is normal! I know 5-0 does ridiculous stuff all the time, but Junior just did something that literally should not exist outside of an action movie and everyone just nods like it _makes perfect sense_. He could have _died_, Danny. He could have lived and broken every single bone in his body. Why does _nobody_ seem freaked out about this but me?”

Danny took Steve’s spot on the edge of the desk. “Part of it is the Navy,” he said honestly. “They actually train people to have so little regard for their own lives that they will do the _stupidest_ shit if it’s for some sort of greater good. And if they’ve got enough training, they can do shit so stupid it makes cops look like the most sensible people in the world.”

Tani’s hands clenched into fists. “That still doesn’t explain why everyone else is okay with this!”

Danny’s chest tightened. “You would not _believe _the number of times I asked myself the very same question. It was only slightly less than the number of times I used to deliver this very same rant about Steve.”

She threw her hands up in the air. “Then you should—” Then she froze, as if her brain had just now processed all the implications of what Danny had said. Slowly, oh so slowly, her hands lowered to her sides. “It’s…” She swallowed, panic rising in her eyes. “It’s not the same thing.”

“Really? Because I’m pretty sure I’ve heard myself using your _exact_ words to describe Steve’s idiot heroics more than once.” He eased back slightly, remembering. “I even did it back when we first started working together, usually directly to Steve’s face. Of course, he was too busy being surprised that anyone cared whether he lived or died to wonder if my freakouts had any deeper implication, so that was convenient. I’m pretty sure Junior’s at least a little less traumatized than Steve was, though, so good call not doing this directly at him if you don’t want the metaphorical cat to be out of the bag.”

“There is no cat! There’s not even a bag!”

He smiled a little. “You know what? I’m pretty sure I would have said that, too.”

That froze her again, but she was staring at him now as if she could see straight through to the inside of his head. Her hands curled back into fists, but these seemed more like she was holding herself back than that she was about to punch something. “They love him, too. I know they do, just like everyone loves Steve. Why are _we_ the only ones who freak out about this?”

Danny shrugged. “I’ve honestly never been sure," he said quietly. "Maybe we're just the ones with the most to lose."

Tani flinched like she'd been hit with something, squeezing her eyes shut. "Shit," she whispered, more despairing than defiant now. She curled in on herself a little, pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes. "Shit shit shit shit shit."

Deeply sympathetic, Danny guided her over to the couch and sat down next to her. "Hey, look at it this way. At least you don't have to have your bisexual awakening at the same time."

Her elbows were on her knees, face still pressed against her hands. "A bisexual awakening would be easier than _this_."

He rubbed a soothing hand along her back. "Not really. If you wait this long to accept the fact that you're bisexual, the reason you change your mind usually has a name attached."

"But she probably wouldn't be freaking _Supergirl._" Tani groaned, still not lifting her head. "And he'll try to be so _nice_ about it, too."

Danny was pretty sure Junior would be thrilled with the news, but it wasn't his place to say anything. Besides, he knew from personal experience that she wouldn't believe him even if he did. "If it helps, it turned out that Steve had been pining for me for _years_ and I had no clue. Then I finally figured out I was pining for _him_, and he didn't notice that, either."

Tani finally sat up, flopping backwards against the couch. "I don't get that lucky."

Yeah, he understood that, too. "I didn't either, until Steve."

She turned to look at him, once again searching for something in his face. Finally, she sighed and shifted back to stare at the ceiling. "What if I just repressed all of this and pretend none of it ever happened? That sounds like a _really_ sensible life plan to me right now."

Danny leaned back as well. “You can if you want, but believe me when I say it doesn’t help. You freak out just as much, but you miss out on all the good stuff.”

She closed her eyes, groaning loudly. “I hate you.” Slowly, she slid sideways so her head was resting against Danny’s shoulder. “I hate you so much right now.”

Danny smiled a little. “I can tell.”

Finally, she sighed. “I make no promises about what I will or will not do about all of this. In fact, I’ll probably refer to it as a nervous breakdown for the immediate future.”

“I would expect nothing less.” He patted her leg. “And I’m here if you ever want to talk about it. Our situations may not be exactly the same, but there’s no one in the world who’s gonna be more sympathetic.” 

He could practically feel her relax against him. “Kono was right to make me talk to you.”

“I find Kono is right about most non-pineapple-related things.”

Tani laughed at that, then sighed again. “Can I stay here a little while?”

Danny closed his eyes. Honestly, it was probably better for everyone if neither of them were at the party. “Absolutely.”

A pleasant quiet fell, enough that Danny was seriously considering drifting off to sleep. The case had been exhausting, and Steve would come in and wake him up when it was time to go….

“Are you _sure_ we can’t just tie them to something? We both have handcuffs, and we’re _so_ much sneakier than they are.”

Danny laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> Come check out my [original fiction,](https://jennifferwardell.wixsite.com/mybooks) my [blog,](http://jennifferwardell.blogspot.com) or say hi to me on [Tumblr](http://sanctuaryforalluniverses.tumblr.com)!


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